In order to create a Smart Grid infrastructure to better manage energy resources, it will be necessary to measure and report energy demand at the individual points of consumption in homes, at places of business, and at industrial sites. The focal point for electrical power distribution in homes, businesses, and factories is the load center, where the branch circuits are organized with branch circuit breakers occupying branch location slots in the load center, and connected through the circuit breakers to an incoming main power bus. The load center is one location for installing the capability to measure and report energy demand.
The universal installation of energy measurement and reporting equipment in homes, businesses, and factories must be simple, practical, and inexpensive.